The clocks go back this Sunday, but you feel they might need to rewind decades, not just an hour, to give Newbridge serious hope of dethroning Glen.
Although it’s 35 years since the Sean O’Leary’s last lifted the John McLaughlin Cup, they’re still third on the Derry SFC roll of honour, with 10, behind only Bellaghy (21) and Ballinderry (13).
While the villagers represent a club with an immensely proud past, the Maghera men, kingpins of the present day, are about making history. More of it. Both in Derry and beyond.
The word ‘third’ may be on Maghera minds too, with Glen aiming to join only Bellaghy and Slaughtneil as four-in-a-row champions of the Oak Leaf County.
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With this being the last season in charge for their manager Malachy O’Rourke, who’s also taken over Tyrone, the focus from the Watty Graham’s will be steely, determined to avoid any shocks or slip-ups.
For all the talk that ‘the real final’ was against a resurgent Slaughtneil in the last four, Glen will know that this match still has to be won.
Yet while Sunday will be strictly business for Glen, getting the job done, for Newbridge there has to be a sense of adventure, a sense of a special occasion.
After their 10th triumph in 1989 they returned to the final in 1991, to be well beaten by Dungiven, but haven’t been back since. The hoopla, the joy, the newness of it all must be some sort of distraction.
Their joint-managers Gary Hetherington and Kevin Brady have done superbly in guiding them here, an amazing achievement for such a small place.
It’s not only down to them, of course. Coaches within the club have developed player after player, seeking to replicate their glorious past. Looking east, over their titular bridge, they’ve seen celebration after celebration from their neighbours Cargin in Antrim. The hunger to bring back senior success for themselves is undoubtedly ravenous.
After scoring just two points in last year’s embarrassing semi-final loss against Magherafelt they wreaked revenge on their near neighbours, a last-gasp goal from forward Shane McGrogan sealing a long-awaited place back in the county final.
However, having ended a 33-year absence, will Newbridge be able to raise themselves sufficiently again?
Besides, their opponents appear to be on another level. Not just the best in Derry but in Ulster (twice), and then throughout Ireland last season.
Glen’s team is still largely similar to that which stunned St Brigid’s of Roscommon with that amazing comeback to win the All-Ireland.
Perhaps understandably, Glen haven’t ‘clicked’ this year, but the class in their collective should not be questioned. They may have peaked at Croke Park but their standards won’t have slipped far so soon.
Newbridge’s best hope – keeping the game very tight and low-scoring – is something that Glen are well able to cope with.
They showed that once more against Slaughtneil in the semi-final, having demonstrated remarkable resilience repeatedly in recent years.
Newbridge will have noted Slaughtneil’s early success from pressing up to deny Glen short kickouts, but the Watties still found a way around that. Containing the creative force of Ethan Doherty will be one of many challenges for the underdogs.
There’s a huge amount of talent in Newbridge, but Glen have all that ability too – proven ability - plus oodles of experience. The Sean O’Leary’s time may come, but they’ll probably have to wait at least a year longer.
Glen have been emphatically superior in all three finals they’ve won, holding their opponents to just seven points each time, scoring 1-13 twice and 1-12 in between. The fact that the sides beaten were Slaughtneil (twice) and Magherafelt adds to the impressive nature of those victories.
Something similar should be expected on Sunday, with Glen progressing to face the Armagh champs in Ulster.
